795 
35^ 


^^1   Land,  Money  and  Highways: 
Evils  and  Remedies 


By 
Alvin  H. 


Low 


'alifornia 
?ional 


Land,  Money 
^^^  Highways: 

Evils  and  Remedies 


A  Key  to  These  Three  Leading  l^olilico- 
Economic   T^roblems 


TO  READ  AND  LEND  TO  A  FRIEND 


BY 

ALVIN  H.  LOW 


Thirty-first  Thousand 


1916 


SOME  FACTS  TO  THINK  OVER 


Returns  for  income  tax  for  the  year  1913  show  that  in 
that  year  357,598  persons  had  net  incomes  of  over  $3,000 
each.  Of  these,  135  had  net  incomes  of  over  $500,000  each, 
and  44  had  net  incomes  of  over  $1,000,000  each. 

About  96,000,000  persons  in  the  United  States  returned 
no  taxable  income  for  that  year. 

It  is  probable  that  the  principal  from  which  said  incomes 
were  derived  has  been  acquired  by  its  present  owners  within 
the   past   fifty   years. 

The  gross  income  of  the  average  American  wage-earner 
does  not  exceed  $400  per  year.  He  has  no  taxable  net  income, 
and  for  years  has  been  drawing  upon  his  wealth  previously 
acquired  to  pay  the  cost  of  a  bare  living  for  himself  and  family. 

Taxable  incomes  are  mostly  compensation  for  the  use  of 
capital. 

Wages  is  compensation  for  the  use  of  labor. 

The  manifest  injustice  of  our  economic  system,  shown 
by  the  above  statement  of  facts,  is  my  warrant  for  the  issue 
and  sale  of  additional  copies  of  this  book. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

ALVIN  H.  LOW. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal..  July,  1915. 


Land,  Money  and  Highways: 
EVILS  AND  REMEDIES 


BY 
A.  H.  LOW 


Attorney  at  Law 
Fellow  of  Southern  California  Academy  of  Sciences 

and 

Author  of  "Common  Sense  on  Money,"  "Scientific  Commercial 

Standards,"  "Protection  and  Immigration,"  "Poverty 

Interest  and  Wages,"  Etc.  Etc. 


"Come  now  and  let  us  reason  together' 


Copyright  1905,  by  ALVIN  H.  LOW 
Twentieth  Revised  Edition 


CONTENTS. 

Frontispiece   

Title  Page    

Introduction    P*igc     5 

Preface page    6 

Part  I — Land — Its  Monoply  and  Remedy page     7 

Part  II. — Money — Its  Value  and  Supply page  10 

Part  III. — Highways — Railroad  Abuses   page  18 

Part  IV. — Summary — How  It  Will  Benefit  Us page  20 

Part  V. — Authorities — Constitution  and  Decisions. . .  .page  23 
Part  VI. — Conclusion — Read  It ! page  26 

APPENDIX. 

A  Proposed  Act  of  Congress — One  Remedy page  31 

Recapitulation — Premises  and   Conclusions pagfe  35 


LAND,  MONEY  AND  HIGHWAYS:  EVILS  AND 

REMEDIES. 


V 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  my  overwhelming  conviction  that  the  application  of  the 
remedies  herein  suggested  to  the  evils  pointed  out  will  bring 
about  a  just  relation  between  Capital  and  Labor,  and  insure 
a  fair  division  of  the  wealth  thereafter  created  by  their  com- 
bined employment,  and  establish  justice  in  many  departments 
of  our  economic  system. 

Politics  in  its  highest  sense  is  the  science  of  government 
and  as  such  only,  is  it  treated  in  the  following  pages. 

At  present  I  stand,  with  many  others,  without  a  party  but 
not,  thank  God,  without  a  country ! 

The  subjects  treated  are  of  such  vast  importance  as  to  war- 
rant a  much  more  voluminous  work.  But  such  a  book  I  think 
could  not  so  well  serve  my  purpose — which  is  to  reach  the 
great  mass  of  voters  who  have  no  time  in  which  to  read  large 
books,  as  well  as  those  of  more  leisure. 
f5 1  have  therefore  expressed  my  thoughts  in  as  few  words  as 
j  possible — recalling  in  justification  the  old  sayings,  "Brevity  is 
the  soul  of  wit,"  and  "Enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast." 

Extracts  from  this  pamphlet,  accompanied  with  proper  ac- 
knowledgments, will  not  be  treated  as  infringements  of  the 
copyright.  ;,     . 

ALVIN  H    LOW. 
1417  Hoover  St.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


451630 


PREFACE    TO    THIS    EDITION. 

Since  the  issue  of  the  first  edition  in  May,  1905,  substantial 
progress  has  been  made  in  relation  to  each  of  the  subjects 
discussed  in  this  book,  and  the  general  public  has  become 
thoroughly  aroused  to  the  evil  effects  of  private  monopoly 
of  public  necessities,  but  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  goal 
aimed  at  in  the  following  pages. 

The  nation  is  trying  to  conserve  our  natural  resources  not 
already  in  the  hands  of  private  monopoly.  In  several  states 
a  more  consistent  land  tax  is  being  agitated  and  tried. 

The  high-handed  exploitation  of  the  public  by  railroad  and 
other  corporations  has  been  attacked,  and  partially  abridged, 
but  a  vast  amount  of  watered  stock  is  still  paying  unright- 
eous dividends.  The  physical  valuation  of  railroad  property 
as  a  basis  for  rates  and  profits,  is  being  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment. Like  valuations  of  all  public  utilities  should  be  made 
for  like  reasons. 

Postal  Savings  Banks  have  been  established  but  the  "joker" 
in  the  law  increases  the  monopoly  of  the  money-lenders,  by 
turning  the  larger  portion  of  the  money  deposited,  over  to  the 
national  banks  at  a  minimum  of  2^4  per  cent  per  annum,  in- 
stead of  lending  it  to  the  real  captains  of  industry.  (See  ap- 
pendix.) 

The  "Federal  Reserve  Act",  passed  in  December  1913, 
regulates  our  currency  system  between  the  Government  and 
the  banks,  but  still  leaves  the  seven  thousand  and  more 
National  banks,  as  heretofore,  with  full  power  over  the  regula- 
tion of  the  value  of  money,  through  the  rate  of  interest. 

The  limitation  of  the  profits  of  Federal  Reserve  banks, 
contained  in  that  Act,  should  be  extended  to  the  local  banks, 
and  likewise  to  every  other  privately  owned  public  utility. 

Before  any  of  these  measures  can  be  effective,  however, 
Congress  must  determine  what  is  a  just  rate  of  interest,  as  the 
standard  for  such  profits. 

Trying  to  kill  a  bad  tree  by  stripping  off  a  few  leaves  at  a 
time  is  not  practical.  Let  us  apply  the  ax  to  the  root  of  the 
tree. 

It  is  wiser  to  prevent  the  unrighteous  accumulation  of  great 
fortunes,  than  to  permit  them  by  law  and  hope  to  compensate 
for  the  wrong  by  spasmodic  and  capricious  redistribution, 
either  by  the  government  by  way  of  taxation  or  confiscation, 
or  by  the  owners  by  donations,  endowments,  etc.,  after  the 
wrong  has  been  done.  Wealth  thus  distributed  never  reaches 
those  from  whom  it  was  originally  extorted. 

The  author  prefers  evolution  to  revolution,  and  appeals  to 
all  of  like  mind  to  assist  in  carrying  forward  the  work  laid 
out  in  this  hnok  6 


LAND,   MONEY   AND   HIGHWAYS:     EVILS   AND 
REMEDIES. 


Part  I. — Land 

Private  monopoly  of  public  necessities,  without  govern^ 
ment  restraint  or  control,  is  the  great  evil  of  civilization. 
To  it  may  justly  be  charged  most  of  the  ills  that  beset  a 
commercial  nation.  Chief  among  the  subjects  of  private 
monopoly  are  land,  money  and  highways;  and,  first  of  all, 
land.  Land,  air  and  sunlight  are  absolute  essentials  to  life. 
Land  is  limited  in  supply,  hence  may  be  monopolized. 

It  is  a  fundamental  truth  that  all  persons  are  endowed  by  the 
"Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,"  among  which  "are 
Life,  Liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  Happiness."  If,  therefore, 
there  is  any  one  of  us  who  has  not  sufficient  of  any  of  the  first 
essentials  to  these  ends,  there  must  be  others  who  have  more 
than  sufficient.  The  monopoly  of  land  by  one  portion  of  the 
human  family  is  a  most  serious  menace  to  the  God-given  right 
of  life  and  liberty. 

We  Americans  have  been  taught  to"  believe  that  a  person's 
right  to  acquire  title  to  land  is  as  unlimited  as  to  that  of  per- 
sonal property,  and  that  if  he  could  command  wealth  enough 
he  might  acquire  title  to  the  land  of  the  whole  state,  or  the 
whole  United  States,  and  control  it  with  as  arbitrary  and 
despotic  power  as  he  can  his  horse  and  carriage.  Now,  either 
this  law  and  doctrine  is  erroneous,  or  the  Creator  has  made  a 
grave  blunder  in  attempting  to  endow  us  with  any  inalienable 
rights.  We  must  either  abandon  the  American  idea  of  human 
God-given  rights,  or  the  theory  of  land-ownership  brought 
from  the  mother  country.  If  a  new  born  babe  is  entitled  to 
any  part  of  the  earth's  surface  as  a  natural  heritage,  he  is  en- 
titled to  the  best  that  is  not  already  in  use  by  others.  Is  not 
this  assertion  in  accordance  with  the  fundamental  principle  of 
Justice?  Now  if  we  find  human  laws  which  lead  to  the  de- 
privation of  any  one  of  a  natural  right,  what  shall  we  do?  Let 
us  adopt  the  language  of  Sir  William  Blackstone,  and  say,  "the 
law  of  nature  is  superior  in  obligation  to  any  other.  No  human 
laws  are  of  any  validity  if  contrary  to  it,  and  they  derive  all 
their  force  and  authority  from  it." 

There  is  no  more  forcible  proof  of  the  violation  of  any  na- 
tural law  than  those  resulting  from  our  laws  in  relation  to  land. 


We  need  not  go  out  of  our  own  country  to  see  the  evil  effects 
of  a  land  system  that  permits  one  generation  to  forestall  its 
successors  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  land.  This  is  one  of  the 
means  by  which  colossal  fortunes  are  secured  to  a  few  and 
abject  want  and  wretchedness  to  the  many. 

Laws  for  the  regulation  of  society,  among  which  are  laws 
regulating  the  title  to  or  occupancy  of  land,  highways,  money 
and  everything  requiring  artificial  regulation,  are  human,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  law-making  power — which  in  this 
country  is  primarily  in  the  people — should  hesitate  to  correct 
any  law  which,  from  experience,  has  proven  to  be  defective, 
and  the  one  test  of  the  law  should  be:  is  it  just? 

But  it  is  easier  to  find  fault  with  a  law  or  anything  else  than 
to  offer  an  improved  substitute  for  it.  The  great  evil  of  our 
present  land  system  is  the  facility  it  affords  those  who  can 
command  money,  to  acquire  title  to  more  land  than  they  can 
use,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  who  would  otherwise  use  it,  and 
as  land  enhances  in  value  by  the  increased  demand  caused  by 
the  increase  of  population,  the  land  owners  reap  the  benefit 
of  labor  which  they  have  not  performed,  by  the  increased  price 
they  are  enabled  to  receive  for  their  lands.  The  evil  results 
to  those  whose  labor  is  confiscated,  as  it  were,  by  those  who 
have  no  just  right  to  it. 

Fortunately,  the  subject  of  land  taxation  is  within  the  juris- 
diction of  the  state.  We  do  not  have  to  wait  for  national 
legislation  for  that.  We  should  tax  all  land  not  in  actual  use 
to  the  full  extent  of  its  speculative  value,  i.  e.,  tax  the  specula- 
tive element  out  of  land  values..  The  object  of  every  business 
transaction  is  gain.  No  one  would  buy  or  own  land  unless 
there  was  a  hope  of  gain  to  result  from  the  purchase  or  hold- 
ing; and  if  every  land  owner  was  compelled  to  pay  to  the  state 
all  that  his  land  increased  in  value  from  year  to  year,  outside 
of  that  added  to  it  by  his  own  labor  or  expenditure  upon  it, 
there  could  be  no  motive  for  owning  land  not  in  actual  use. 
Is  not  this  a  plain,  simple,  just  and  efficient  remedy  for  the 
evils  of  our  land  system?  It  would  not  be  confiscation.  It 
would  simply  stop  further  confiscation.  The  state,  which  is 
the  people  as  a  mass,  would  simply  claim  and  take  all  of  the 
value  of  land  that  the  people  in  mass  have  given  to  it  with- 
out compensation  or  any  service  on  the  part  of  he  who  owns 
the  land.  Society — the  state — has  a  right  to  the  unearned  in- 
crement due  to  its  existence  and  activities. 

The  ballot  is  the  only  instrument  we  need  to  use  in  this 
■struggle  for  Justice.    Shall  we  use  it?      We  shall  see. 

ft 


Since  writing  the  foregoing  1  have  been  asked  sundry  ques- 
tions relating  thereto,  which  1  will  state  and  answer  here. 

1.  "Do  you  advocate  the  single  tax  doctrine  of  Henry 
George  ?" 

No,  not  if  I  thoroughly  understand  Mr.  George.  My  idea 
of  taxes  is,  that  they  are  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  govern- 
ment, and  that  government  being  for  the  protection  of  the 
governed  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  their  persons  and  prop- 
erty, as  well  as  the  promotion  of  the  general  welfare,  it  is  right 
and  proper  that  everyone  who  enjoys  such  protection  should 
contribute  to  the  cost  of  government  in  proportion  to  the  value 
of  the  property  protected.  Taxes  in  this  sense  are  analogous 
to  premium  paid  for  insurance. 

A  poll  tax  may  or  may  not  be  necessary  or  expedient,  since 
in  this  all  share  equally;  but  while  I  would  have  every  citizen 
bear  his  share  of  the  expenses  of  government,  in  proportion  to 
the  value  of  his  personal  property,  I  would  discriminate 
against  the  ownership  of  unimproved  and  unused  land  to  pre- 
vent the  monpoly  of  that  first  essential  to  human  existence, 
the  Earth. 

2.  "How  would  your  theory  of  land  taxation  affect  the 
rancher  and  farmer  who  are  making  use  of  their  land  for  legiti- 
mate purposes?" 

They  would  usually  pay  less  taxes  than  they  do  now ;  as, 
while  their  land  might  bear  more  taxes,  their  improvements 
thereon  should  bear  less.  At  present,  he  who  improves  his 
land  is  fined  for  his  industry; while  he  who  holds  his  land  un- 
improved and  keeps  others  out  of  the  use  of  it,  gets  off  with 
little  or  no  tax,  and  his  land  grows  more  valuable  year  by  year 
by  reason  of  the  work  of  others  on  land  near  it  and  the  in- 
creased demand  for  land  resulting  from  increase  of  population ; 
this  is  the  injustice  and  evil  I  wish  to  overcome. 

But  while  this  evil  is  calling  loudly  for  remedy  it  is  of  second- 
ary importance,  for  immediate  action,  to  the  evils  existing  in 
our  money  system,  as  set  forth  in  the  following  pages. 

Land  is  given  first  place  here  because  it  is  the  first  essential 
to  life. 

It  was,  however,  the  hope  of  the  author  to  contribute  some- 
thing substantial  towards  making  our  money  system  scientific 
that  led  to  the  publication  of  this  book ;  the  reader's  thoughtful 
consideration  of  what  follows  is  therefore  earnestly  solicited. 


Part  II. — Money. 

The  laws  relating  to  Money  are  also  man-made  and  are 
equally  defective  with  those  relating  to  Land.  To  abolish  all 
forms  of  money  would  in  effect  reduce  all  exchange  to  barter. 

Money  was  invented  in  answer  to  a  necessity.  Facility  for 
making  exchange  was  needed,  and,  as  all  exchanges  of  labor 
and  commodities  were  made  according  to  the  relative  value 
of  the  things  exchanged,  a  measure  of  value  was  as  necessary 
as  measures  of  size  and  v/eight.  Standards  of  all  measures 
have  been  securely  fixed  except  that  of  value.  The  material 
and  mass  of  the  money  unit,  the  gold  dollar,  has  been  fixed. 
But  the  value,  the  most  essential  part  of  this  measure,  is  varia- 
ble everywhere  and  all  the  time.  The  value  of  money,  like 
that  of  labor  and  commodities,  is  governed  by  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand.  The  value  of  money  can  be  regulated  only 
through  the  supply  for  use.  While  the  supply  of  money  was 
confined  to  a  certain  commodity,  as  gold  or  silver,  it  was  an 
easy  subject  of  private  monopoly,  and  has  always  been  a  most 
potent  instrument  of  extortion.  The  history  of  money  shows 
what  fantastic  and  always  abortive  efforts  have  been  made  to 
fix  and  regulate  the  value  of  money,  through  usury  laws, 
which  have  failed  of  their  purpose  for  the  sole  reason  that  there 
has  never  been  an  adequate  supply  of  money  to  meet  th«  de- 
mands of  commerce  at  the  rate  of  interest  prescribed;  and  until 
the  invention  of  coined  credit — paper  money — to  meet  the  de- 
mand not  met  by  the  supply  of  commodity  money,  such  a  sup- 
ply was  practically  impossible.  Credit  money  is  quite  a  mod- 
ern invention,  to  answer  a  necessity  as  imperative  as  the  de- 
mands for  money  in  its  original  form.  The  invention  of  credit 
or  paper  money  has  made  it  possible  for  our  government  to 
furnish  a  supply  (by  loans  on  good  security)  to  meet  all  de- 
mands for  money  at  a  just  and  low  rate  of  interest,  and  by  that 
means  fix  the  value  of  money  and  maintain  that  value  at  all 
times  and  places  throughout  the  country.  Instead  of  doing 
this,  however,  it  has  created  and  is  now  fostering  a  private  mo- 
nopoly— the  National  banking  associations — with  full  power 
to  supply  much  or  little  credit  money;  not  to  meet  the  demands 
of  commerce,  but  to  meet  their  demands  on  commerce,  and 
their  standard  is  "all  the  trade  will  bear." 

To  one  who  has  made  a  study  of  this  subject  it  seems  incredi- 
ble that  this  thing  can  be  suffered  in  this  country  much  longer. 
My  limit  of  space  does  not  permit  me  to  even  touch  upon  the 
wrong  and  injustice  our  present  money  system  entails.  Money 
is  the  measure  of  value  and  should  be  as  fixed  and  certain  in 

lO 


£is  own  value  as  the  yard  stick  is  in  its  length.  The  interest 
it  will  draw  when  loaned  on  good  security  shows  what  the 
value  of  money  is,  and  the  current  rate  of  interest  on  money  so 
loaned  is  the  standard  of  rents  and  profits.  A  just  rate  of  in- 
terest maintained  by  a  suflicient  and  certain  supply  of  money 
would  reduce  rents  and  profits  to  the  same  level.  That  in- 
terest— which  is  profit  to  capital — is  unjustly  high  is  evidenced 
by  the  rapid  accumulation  of  wealth  uaXer  the  hands  of  the 
few,  to  the  impoverishment  of  the  many. 

It  is  by  the  authority  of  the  Government  that  all  paper  money 
is  issued.  The  National  banking  associations  use  their  monop- 
oly of  the  issue  of  paper  money  for  their  private  personal  gain, 
in  the  same  sense  that  a  man  does  his  business  who  runs  a 
hotel  or  store. 

The  loanable  function  of  money  is  only  incident.  The  pri- 
mary purpose  and  functions  of  money  are  a  measure  of  value 
and  a  medium  of  exchange.  The  incident  function  should  be 
subservient  to  the  primary;  but  almost  from  the  time  money 
was  invented  its  susceptibility  to  private  monopoly  through 
supply,  has  rendered  the  function  of  loanability  at  interest 
dominant,  and  through  it  the  money-issuing  and  money-lending 
powers  have  always  held  both  the  economic  and  political  des- 
tiny of  the  world  in  their  hands. 

It  is  the  lawful  right  and  plain  duty  of  the  Government  to 
fix  interest  at  a  low  rate  and  insist  on  the  National  banks  lend- 
ing money  on  good  security  at  all  times  on  demand  at  that 
rate,  or  take  the  issue  of  credit  money  out  of  their  hands  and 
exercise  that  sovereign  function  itself.  While  the  profits  of 
agriculture  do  not  average  two  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the 
capital  invested,  it  is  clear  to  me  that  interest  should,  at  most, 
not  exceed  that  rate.  How  much  lower  than  that  it  should 
be  to  give  capital  its  just  share  of  the  profits  of  the  industries 
in  which  it  is  engaged  is  open  to  discussion,  but  I  believe  this 
matter  of  the  normal  rate  of  interest,  i.  e.,  the  current  rate  at 
which  money  is  loaned  on  sound  security,  is  the  vita,'  question 
between  Capital  and  Labor.  The  bone  of  contention  between 
them  is  the  division  of  the  profits  of  their  combined  employ- 
ment in  the  industries.  Fixing  the  price  of  Labor  by  law 
has  been  tried  and  from  the  very  nature  of  things  has  failed. 

Fixing  the  value  (use)  of  capital  has  only  been  attempted 
through  usury  laws,  which  have  also  failed  of  their  purpose 
because  no  provision  was  ever  made  at  the  time  of  their  en- 
actment or  otherwise  for  a  supply  of  money — the  representa- 
tive of  all  commercial  values — to  meet  the  demands  of  com- 
merce at  the  rate  prescribed.  This  can  now  be  done,  as/jt 
could  never,  ^With  the  knowledge  existing;,,  have  been  done  be* 
fore.     There  being'  (aside  from  lariajl&ut  the  two  factors  of 

II 


production,  b  it  not  clccir  that  all  that  is  left  of  profits  after 
one  factor  has  received  its  share  must  go  to  the  other?    As  to 

its  share  of  profits,  land  is  a  form  of  capital.  Its  portion  of 
the  Capitalistic  share  of  profits  being  called  rent  instead  of 
interest,  but  its  value  is  governed  by  the  same  law.  Congress 
alone  has  the  right  and  power  to  cause  justice  to  be  done  in 
this  matter.    What  shall  we  do?    We  shall  see. 

(See  Appendix.) 

Questions  relating  to  the  foregoing  also  have  been  asked, 
some  before  and  some  since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition, 
which  I  will  state  here  with  my  answers : 

I.  "In  your  bill  (Appendix)  why  do  you  provide  no  penalty 
for  charging  more  than  the  rate  of  interest  prescribed  for  the 
use  of  money?" 

Because  it  is  not  needed,  and  if  such  penalty  were  prescribed 
it  would  injure  rather  than  benefit  the  very  persons  whom  it 
would  ostensibly  protect,  to-wit:  those  who  were  in  need  of 
loans_Jj*ft  having  nothing  to  give  as  security,  except  their 
- — known  integrity.  No  one  who  has  good  security  to  give  for 
a  loan  would  borrow  of  a  private  person  or  corporation  at  a 
higher  rate  than  he  would  have  to  pay  the  Government,  and 
to  deny  him  the  right  to  borrow  at  any  rate  he  can  obtain  a 
loan  for,  without  such  security,  might  cause  his  ruin,  or  make 
it  a  necessity  to  save  himself  through  the  violation  of  the  usury 
law,  in  which  case  he  would  be  required  also  to  pay  additional 
interest  as  indemnity  against  prosecution.  In  fact,  such 
has  been  the  history  of  all  usury  laws,  the  world  over.  Usury 
laws  have  always  been  abortive^^f  any  good,- since  they  have 
always  been  at  variance  with  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
Take  for  instance  the  usury  laws  of  our  several  states.  Every 
state  at  one  time  or  another  has  enacted  a  penal  usury  law, 
which  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  prescribing  the  value  of 
money  under  a  penalty,  with  absolutely  no  provision  and  no 
power  on  the  part  of  the  law-makers  to  furnish  money  to  meet 
the  demand  at  the  prescribed  rate.  The  States  and  Territories 
have  thus  assumed  a  function  of  the  National  Government,  and 
have  exercised  it  by  sufferance,  fixing  an  arbitrary  value  on 
money,  each  for  itself,  and  neither  they  (having  no  right)  nor 
the  National  Government  have  ever  even  attempted  to  furnish 
a  supply  of  money  in  manner  and  quantity  to  so  meet  the  de- 
mand for  money  as  to  make  the  legal  rate  normal. .  For  further 
light  upon  the  folly  of  penal  usury  laws,  I  respectfully  refer 
my  readers  to  "Defense  of  Usury,"  by  Jeremy  Bentham,  and 
the  speech  of  Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  before  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  Feb.  14,  1867. 


2.  "If  the  current  normal  rate  of  interest  is  lowered  to  2 
per  cent,  per  annum,  values  will  rise  in  proportion,  so  after  all, 
how  will  labor,  the  first  factor  in  production,  be  benefited?" 

Prices  as  computed  in  money  will  so  rise,  once  for  all,  in 
consequence  of  such  change  of  interest,  but  the  intrinsic  value 
or  usefulness  of  things  will  not  change.  The  nominal  value, 
not  the  real  value,  of  labor  and  commodities  change  wHh  a 
change  in  the  value  of  the  measure  of  value.  The  actual  bene- 
fit to  Labor  will  be  the  difference  between  the  2  per  cent,  or 
less  rate  we  propose  to  establish,  and  the  rate  it  pays  in 
interest,  rents  and  profits  now. 

Remember  that  "per  centum"  is  "by  the  hundred,"  and  "per 
annum"  is  "by  the  year."  At  2  per  cent,  money  at  simple  in- 
terest doubles  in  50  years ;  at  4  per  cent,  in  25  years ;  at  10  per 
cent,  in  10  years.  Other  things  being  equal,  prices  rise  or 
fall  the  same  per  cent,  as  interest  falls  or  rises. 

3.  "Why  should  money  loaned  draw  any  interest?" 
Because  it  is  useful  and  its  value  is  the  measure  of  the  value 

of  all  other  things  of  value  which  are  limited  in  supply.  The 
law  of  supply  and  demand  is  the  fundamental  law  of  com- 
mercial value.  If  the  use  of  money  could  be  had  for  the  ask- 
ing, no  one  would  part  with  his  goods  for  money  that  he  could 
get  for  nothing.  Money  would  therefore  have  no  value,  being 
unlimited  in  supply  and  would  no  longer  answer  either  as  a 
measure  of  value  or  medium  of  exchange,  the  two  functions 
for  which  it  was  created;  Aristotle  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. 

4.  "Why  do  you  prescribe  2  per  cent,  instead  of  3  per  cent, 
or  I  per  cent,  as  the  desirable  or  just  rate?" 

Two  per  cent.,  as  shown  by  late  government  statistics,  is 
about  the  average  rate  of  net  profit  of  agriculture  in  the  United 
States,  and  that  is  the  primary  and  foundation  industry.  I  can 
see  no  fairness  in  allowing  capital  in  any  other  industry  a 
greater  rate  of  profit  than  that  of  agriculture.  How  much 
lower  the  rate  of  interest  should  be,  I  think,  is  such  rate  and 
no  more,  as  would  induce  the  owners  of  capital  to  part  with 
(sell)  the  use  of  their  capital,  rather  than  use  it  by  consuming 
it  themselves. 

The  ethics  of  interest  seems  to  me  to  be  concerned  solely  on 
behalf  of  live  labor,  as  man  can  owe  no  duty  to  dead  or  inani- 
mate labor,  and  aside  from  land  in  its  natural  state,  all  capital 
is  essentially  dead  or  crystallized  labor.  We  owe  a  duty  to 
the  owner  of  capital  no  less  than  to  him  who  has  no  capital, 
but  not  because  of  his  capital. 

13 


5-  "Why  should  not  the  government  issue  a  certain  amount 
of  money  per  capita  in  order  to  give  the  people  a  sufficient 
amount  to  do  business  with?" 

Because  the  government  has  no  means  of  knowing  how 
much  that  v/ould  be.  It  is  the  volume  of  business,  not  the 
number  of  people,  that  determines  the  demand  for  money ;  and, 
further,  the  Government  has  no  adequate  way  of  supplying  an 
arbitrary  amount  per  capita  or  otherwise ;  but  by  loans  at  a 
fixed  rate  of  interest,  the  supply  will  meet  the  demand  auto- 
matically, and  when  such  supply  is  provided,  it  is  possible,  if 
not  probable,  that  the  actual  amount  required  will  be  less,  in- 
stead of  greater,  than  now.  It  is  the  amount  in  circulation, 
not  simply  the  amount  in  existence,  that  facilitates  trade. 

6.  "How  can  the  Government's  credit  stand  the  strain  of 
such  an  immense  issue  of  notes  as  would  be  likely  to  be  re- 
quired if  that  bill  should  become  a  law?" 

Such  law  and  issue  would  not  tax  the  credit  of  the  Govern- 
ment a  particle,  because  every  dollar  issued  would  be  amply 
secured  by  the  private  pledge  given  for  its  loan.  There  is  no 
analogy  between  such  notes  so  issued  and  the  present  treasury 
notes  and  "greenbacks"  now  in  circulation,  which  were  issued 
for  value  received  and  consumed  in  war  and  otherwise ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  would  be  substantially  like  the  gold  certificates 
now  in  circulation,  absolutely  good  and  at  par  with  the  unit 
of  value,  so  long  as  the  permanency  of  the  Republic  is  secure 

7.  Often  some  one  says  to  me : 

"I  do  not  believe  in  interest,  rent  and  profit.  What  right  has 
money  to  draw  interest?" 

I  answer:  You  use  the  word  right  on  the  wrong  side  of 
this  question.  Permit  me  to  reply  by  asking,  what  right  has 
one  man  to  the  use  of  another's  property  without  his  consent, 
and  how  can  you  expect  to  have  his  consent  without  paying 
him  for  it?  The  value  of  a  thing  is  its  use.  Interest  is  paid 
for  the  use  of  money  for  a  limited  time.  Rent  is  payment  for 
the  limited  use  of  land.  If  you  have  no  right  to  take  another's 
money  or  his  land  or  his  horse  forever,  what  right  have  you 
to  take  it  without  his  consent  for  any  time?  As  I  have  said  be- 
fore, money  and  property,  as  such,  have  no  rights,  but  those 
who  own  them  have,  and  if  you  want  the  use  of  them  at  a  rea- 
sonable rate,  cause  your  government  to  establish  and  maintain 
a  reasonable  rate  of  interest,  and  rents  and  profits  will  follow  it 

8.  "How  do  you  know  that  live  labor  is  not  receiving  its 
fair  share  of  the  profits  of  the  industries?" 

14 


For  example,  let  us  take  government  statistics  and  from 
them  make  a  few  calculations.  In  the  year  igoo  capital  in  the 
United  States  was  invested  about  as  follows : 

Agriculture    $20,500,000,000 

Manufacturing   9,900,000,000 

Mining   7,400,000,000 

Railroads    (transportation)     8,700,000,000 

Total  . .    $46,5oo,ooo,ooo_ 

Total  wealth  in  U.  S.  in  1900 $94,300,000,000 

Total  wealth  in  U.  S.  in  1890 $65,037,091,000 

Increase  in  10  vears $29,262,909,000 

Average  increase  per  year 2,926,290,900 

Which  is  about  43/2  per  cent,  at  simple  interest  on  the  total  in 

1890. 

If  we  allow  this  capital  2  per  cent,  for  its  use  for  the  year 
1900,  (which  is  considerably  more  than  was  the  profit  of  agri- 
culture), it  gives  $930,000,000.  Deduct  this  from  the  amount 
of  the  increase  in  wealth  in  1900  and  we  have  $1,996,290,900  to 
go  to  the  laborers.  With  an  estimated  population  of  80,000,- 
000  in  the  year  1900,  and  one  laborer  to  every  five  persons, 
there  were  16,000,000  laborers.  Divide  the  $1,996,290,900  be- 
tween these  and  each  will  receive  $124,  being  net  profit  over 
and  above  all  expenses  of  himself  and  family. 

From  page  647  of  the  annual  report  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor  for  the  year  1903,  it  appears  that  of  2,567  families  of  5.31 
persons,  the  average  income  in  1901  was  $827.19;  average 
expenses  for  all  purposes,  $768.54  (of  which  food  cost  $326.60) 
leaving  an  average  saving  or  profit  per  family  of  $58.65.  Take 
this  from  $124,  which  it  should  have  been,  and  it  leaves 
$65.35  that  the  family  should  have  gotten  but  did  not. 

By  the  way,  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  fam- 
ilies of  wage-earners  received  $827.19  for  the  year  1900  or  any 
other.  The  statistics  do  not  show.  The  statistical  abstract 
of  the  United  States  for  1903  shows  on  page  66  that  for  the 
year  ending  Sept.  i,  1900,  the  National  Banks  made  net  eam- 
mgs  of  10.13  per  cent,  on  their  capital  and  surplus!  Is  it  not 
plain  that  with  an  average  of  only  4^^  per  cent,  per  annum 
increase  of  wealth  of  which  labor  is  robbed  of  more  than  one- 
half  of  its  share,  and  95  per  cent,  of  business  enterprises  en- 
tered upon  are  failures,  while  the  money-issuing  and  money- 
lending  power  is  clearing  a  net  profit  of  over  10  per  cent.,  the 
money-lender  now,  as  he  has  ever  done,  holds  our  economic 
as  well  as  our  political  destiny  in  his  hands? 

15 


9-  "While  you  place  much  stress  upon  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand,  some  writers  on  political  economy,  and  many  lay- 
men, deny  its  validity  and  force." 

In  reply  to  this  I  will  refer  my  readers  to  the  diagram 
below  and  the  explanation  which  follows  it. 


FIG  1. 

S     M     V.5%  D 


USE 

s 

M 

FIG.  2 
V2/2% 

D 

USE 

FIG.3 
S    M  UIO% 

D 

5 

FIGA 
M   VAO% 

O 

use 

S_ 

FIGS 

USE 

DIAGRAM   ILLUSTRATING  THE  LAW  OF  SUPPLY 
AND  DEMAMD  AS  APPLIED  TO  MONEY. 

SEE  Next  page 


i6 


In  the  diagram  on  opposite  page,  V  per  cent,  is  the  value  o! 
money  or  rate  of  interest;  S.  M.  the  supply  and  D  the  demand 
for  money,  balanced  at  Use. 

Operation — For  the  purpose  of  illustration  only,  we  assume 
that  in 

Fig-  I,  5  per  cent,  is  the  legal,  just  and  normal  rate  and  Sup- 
ply and  Demand  are  equal  at  that  rate.  It  needs  no  figure  or 
illustration  to  show  that  when  Supply  and  Demand  change 
simultaneously  and  in  same  proportion,  the  balance  will  be 
maintained  at  the  same  rate,  but  if  as  in 

Fig.  2.  Demand  same,  supply  is  doubled,  value  falls  to 
^Yi  per  cent. 

Fig.  3.  Demand  same,  supply  lessens  one-half,  value  rises 
to  10  per  cent. 

Fig  4.  Supply  same  as  in  Fig.  i ;  demand  doubled,  value 
rises  to  10  per  cent. 

Fig.  5.  Supply  same  as  in  Fig.  i ;  demand  lessened  one-half, 
value  falls  to  2^/2  per  cent. 

The  rate  of  interest  per  annum  expressed  by  per  cent,  indi- 
cates the  price  paid  for  the  use  of  money,  which  is  also  de- 
scribed as  the  value  of  money. 

The  value  of  money  being  the  standard  measure  of  value 
(although  as  usually  stated  "money  is  the  measur^  of  value") 
other  things  being  equal — 

Raising  the  rate  of  interest  has  the  same  effect  on  prices  of 
Labor  and  commodities,  as  increasing  their  supply  or  dimin- 
ishing demand  for  them. 

Lowering  the  rate  of  interest  has  the  same  effect  on  prices 
of  Labor  and  commodities  as  diminishing  their  supply  or  in' 
creasing  demand  for  them. 

Thus  it  will  be  observed  that  a  change  in  the  ratio  between 
supply  and  demand  on  money,  has  the  opposite  effect  on  the 
prices  of  all  other  things  for  which  money  is  exchanged. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  rate  of  interest  herein 
discussed  is  the  average  or  normal  rate,  with  sound  security, 
throughout  the  country,  and  that  change  in  the  normal  rate  is 
never  as  abrupt  from  one  extreme  to  another  as  illustrated 
in  the  diagram.  In  actual  practice  the  rate  changes  gradually 
in  proportion  as  the  ratio  between  supply  and  demand 
changes ;  and,  too,  an  increase  in  supply  has  a  tendency  to 
stimulate  demand  at  the  lower  rate  and  a  contraction  of  supply 
has  the  opposite  effect. 

IT 


Who  can  predict  the  vast  increase  of  business  that  would 
result  from  a  justly  low  and  fixed  rate  of  interest  with  a  con- 
stant and  ample  supply  of  money  to  meet  the  demand  at  that 
rate? 

Compare  the  foraging  diagram  with  the  law  of  the  lever 
and  note  the  analogy.  The  one  is  as  much  a  natural  law  as 
the  other  and  both  as  immutable  as  the  law  of  gravitation,  and 
all  attempts  to  circumvent  them  have  always  resulted  and 
must  necessarily  result  in  absolute  and  ignominious  failure. 


Part  III.— Highways. 

We  have  next  to  consider  Public  Roads,  usually  called  High- 
ways. The  highway  is  a  public  necessity  scarcely  less  in  im- 
portance in  our  advanced  state  of  society  than  money  itself. 
Certainly  no  great  advancement  in  commerce  could  have  been 
made  without  this  means  of  transportation.  When  the  land 
of  a  country  is  held  in  common  by  all  its  inhabitants  and  com- 
merce is  in  its  simplest  form,  little  or  no  attention  is  given  to 
public  roads;  but  as  soon  as  the  land  is  occupied  so  that  the 
members  of  society  claim  exclusive  possession  of  portions  of 
the  land,  it  becomes  necessary  that  a  part  of  the  land  should 
be  reserved  to  be  held  in  common,  over  which  the  people  may 
pass  from  place  to  place  without  let  or  hindrance.  The  in- 
stitution of  highways,  therefore,  must  date  back  about  equally 
with  that  of  money,  for  they  are  both  vital  necessities  to  com- 
merce, the  first  and  grandest  step  towards  civilization.  About 
the  year  1830  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  commerce. 

It  was  the  employment  of  steam  as  a  motive  power  in  the 
transportation  of  persons  and  property,  applied  to  the  railroad 
locomotive,  and  was  in  itself  one  of  the  grandest  strides  for- 
ward in  the  march  of  human  progress  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed. It  was  to  the  system  of  highways,  what  paper  money 
was  to  the  money  system.  Grand  in  its  conception  and  benefi- 
cent in  its  purpose — a  power  given  to  man  as  a  help  to  his 
moral  and  spiritual  growth ;  but  like  money  and  ever3^hing 
else  of  general  necessity  capable  of  private  monopoly,  it  has 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  few,  who  are  using  it  with  an  eye 
single  to  their  personal  advantage.  Suppose  for  a  moment, 
if  you  can,  that  every  railroad  in  this  country  was  suddenly 
blotted  out  of  existence  and  the  invention  of  the  locomotive 
forgotten.  Should  the  sun  be  darkened  by  a  total  eclipse  for 
a  year,  the  stagnation  of  business  and  general  distress  would 
be  little  more  intense. 

Where  is  there  a  railroad  in  this  country  upon  which  every 

18 


citizen  may  travel  or  send  his  goods  at  a  rate  equal  with  that 
of  every  other  citizen?  Where  is  there  a  railroad  which  is 
not  in  the  control  of  one  or  more  private  persons  who  manage 
it  as  they  see  fit  without  regard  to  public  interest  or  common 
justice? 

Without  laws  to  suit  the  business  of  constructing  railroads 
there  could  be  but  slow  progress  if  any,  in  the  matter.  All 
the  land  in  the  country  is  either  owned  by  the  Government  or 
by  private  individuals,  and  land  ownership  carries  with  it 
exclusive  possession.  The  law  of  eminent  domain,  which  re- 
serves to  the  Government  the  right  to  take  private  property 
for  public  use,  had  to  be  invoked  before  the  railroad  could  be 
built.  So  we  have  the  spectacle  of  a  necessity  which  is  public 
while  it  is  being  built  and  "private  property"  afterwards, 
without  any  change  of  title.  However,  I  hold  that  the  ex- 
ercise of  this  sovereign  prerogative,  the  right  of  eminent  do- 
main, makes  the  railroads  public  highways,  and  the  Govern- 
ment has  the  inalienable  right  to  regulate  and  control  them, 
precisely  as  it  has  the  money  system.  In  each  case,  a  sov- 
ereign prerogative  has  been  farmed  out  to  private  corporations 
for  their  personal  advantage,  with  but  little  consideration  for 
justice  or  the  public  weal.  The  interests  of  the  public  in 
either  case  have  been  subserved  only  as  it  has  been  necessary 
to  the  corporations  in  question.  As  it  stands  today  (1905),  rail- 
road corporations  are  simply  legalized  highwaymen. 

Such  vast  utilities  should  no  longer  be  left  in  the  control  of 
private  monopolists.  Every  sovereign  prerogative  is  inalien- 
ably in  the  people  of  this  country.  It  can  neither  be  lawfully 
given  nor  taken  away,  and  if  unlawfully  given  or  taken  away 
it  may  be  reclaimed,  recovered  and  again  exercised  by  the 
people  through  their  government.  I  believe  the  time  has 
nearly  arrived  when  this  will  be  done  by  the  people  of  this 
country.  The  Government,  however,  will  not  do  so  unless 
the  people  demand  and  insist  upon  it. 

Shall  we  make  these  demands?    We  shall  see. 


The  following  questions  have  been  asked,  to  which  I  have 
replied  below: 

I.  "Do  you  believe  in  government  ownership  of  public 
utilities?" 

That  depends  on  the  results  attainable.  A  public  utility 
is  that  which  serves  the  public,  and  the  most  desirable  ov(mer- 
ship,  as  I  see  it,  is  that  which  gives  the  best  service  at  the 
lowest  possible  cost  to  the  public  in  general.     The  principal 

T9 


evils  attending  private  ownership  and  administration  of  public 
utilities  are  extortion  and  unfair  discrimination.  Eliminate 
these  two  and  it  will  matter  but  little  whether  the  bare  owner- 
ship be  private  or  public.  It  will  require  as  many  people,  and 
of  the  same  efiticiency  to  administer  the  utility  in  the  one  case 
as  in  the  other. 

While  the  normal  rates  of  rents  and  profits  remain  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  they  are  now,  which  they  will  do  as  long 
as  the  rate  of  interest  on  money  loaned  remains  the  same,  I 
can  see  but  little  advantage  to  be  gained  by  the  general  public 
in  substituting  for  extortion  in  rates  for  service,  extortion  in 
rates  of  interest  on  the  purchase  price  of  the  utilities  acquired. 
As  to  discrimination  in  administration  of  the  service,  that  can 
and  should  be  prevented  in  either  case,  and  the  Government 
has  ample  authority,  as  I  will  show,  to  do  that  under  private 
as  well  as  public  ownership. 

2.  "Why  should  not  the  Government  construct  railroads 
and  other  public  utilities  and  operate  them  at  cost?" 

If  in  the  word  cost  you  include  the  current  rate  of  interest 
on  the  capital  invested,  I  can  see  no  objection  to  it,  provided 
the  Government  has  the  means  of  paying  for  such  construc- 
tion. However,  the  Government  has  no  such  means  except 
by  taxation,  other  than  the  moneys  arising  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  exclude  such  interest,  the  com- 
paratively few  who  would  use  such  utility,  would  have  an  ad- 
vantage over  those  who  did  not,  to  the  amount  of  the  free  use 
of  such  capital  for  the  time  being,  which  would  be  no  more 
just  to  the  rest  of  the  tax-paying  community  than  would  a 
loan  of  so  much  money  for  the  time  being  without  interest. 
That  discrimnation  in  favor  of  those  who  are  now  using  the 
Government  credit  at  the  rate  of  only  one-half  of  i  per  cent. 
per  annum,  is  one  of  the  injustices  and  evils  we  should  abolish. 


Part  IV. — Summary. 

In  our  three  preceding  articles  we  have  considered  briefly 
the  three  great  instruments  necessary  to  Labor  in  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  wealth.  It  is  my  purpose  now  to  sum- 
marize the  whole  subject. 

There  is  practical  unanimity  on  the  part  of  the  great  suffer- 
ing majority  as  to  the  existence  of  great  evils  in  our  economic 


system.  All  know,  and  the  masses  feel  the  effects  of  these 
evils,  and  are  crying"  loudly  for  their  removal,  but  as  to  the 
remedy  there  are  innumerable  theories,  each  having  its  advo- 
cates, and  those  who  are  profiting  by  the  injustice  of  the  pres- 
ent system,  profit  further  and  are  most  secure  by  reason  of 
the  division  in  the  ranks  of  the  would-be  reformers.  They 
have  learned  the  truth  of  the  legend,  "In  union  is  strength," 
and  are  acting  accordingly,  as  witness  their  combinations  into 
partnerships,  corporations,  syndicates  and  trusts ;  while  the 
trades  and  labor  unions  are  the  only  substantial  and  forceful 
combinations  among  the  oppressed.  Combinations  of  laborers 
as  such,  however,  can  act  only  on  the  supply  of  labor,  and 
while  the  labor  market  is  glutted  with  unorganized  and  un- 
employed laborers  literally  begging  for  work  to  do  and  every 
demand  for  labor  filled,  nothing  but  the  greater  skill  and 
education  of  the  organized  laborers  can  have  any  potent  and 
lasting  effect  upon  wages. 

Political  action,  which  is  free  to  those  belonging  to  the 
unions  as  well  as  those  who  are  outside  of  them,  is  the  only 
field  in  which  all  must  work  to  accomplish  a  substantial  and 
satisfactory  improvement  in  our  economic  system,  and  because 
I  believe  this,  I  have  attempted  to  point  out  the  paramount 
evils  and  a  method  for  their  eradication. 

Land,  money  and  highways  are  comparable  in  our  economic 
system  to  the  three  great  mechanical  powers  in  machinery: 
money  corresponding  in  importance  to  the  lever.  There  are, 
to  be  sure,  other  subjects  for  legislative  correction.  Every 
great  public  utility  should  be  under  Government  control,  to 
at  least  prevent  its  doing  an  injury  to  the  community,  but 
when  we  have  taxed  speculation  out  of  land  values,  established 
a  just  rate  of  interest  on  money  loaned  and  payments  deferred 
and  applied  government  regulation  to  the  operation  and  tolls 
of  railroads  of  this  country,  there  will  be  such  a  new  impetus 
to  commerce  that,  with  the  exclusion  of  undesirable  immigrants 
from  other  countries,  every  one  who  is  able  and  wants  to  work 
will  be  employed,  and  at  wages  that  will  give  him  all  the  wealth 
he  creates.  My  suggestions  of  methods  of  bringing  about  this 
happy  state  of  things  have  necessarily  been  accompanied  with 
but  few  illustrations  of  how  they  would  operate.  I  hope  now 
to  supply  this  lack  by  describing  at  least  some  of  the  effects 
of  the  remedies  advocated,  and  later  to  point  to  the  authority 
now  existing,  for  the  laws  necessary  to  be  enacted  to  accom- 
plish the  end  sought — the  establishment  of  Justice  in  our 
economic  system.  If  the  State  takes  in  taxes  all  the  value 
that  land  not  in  use  acquires  by  reason  of  the  operations  of 
that  part  of  the  community  not  its  owners,  there  can  be  no 
inducement   to   monopolize   land,   or   hold   it   for   speculative 

21 


purposes,  because  no  proiit  could  arise  from  such  holding. 
This  would  put  agricultural  and  otherwise  valuable  land  in 
the  market  at  their  true  value  for  use  and  within  the  reach 
of  the  people  of  small  means.  What  need  is  there  to  explain 
or  describe  the  results  of  equal  and  just  rates  on  the  railroads? 
It  may  not  be  so  obvious,  however,  how  lowering  the  rate  o£ 
interest  on  money  loaned,  would  benefit  the  wage-laborer  who 
never  borrows  money,  and  has  no  security  to  pledge  for  the 
use  of  it  even  if  he  wanted  to  borrow.  This  is  a  fair  and 
pertinent  question  and  its  proper  answer  is  the  crucial  test 
of  the  theory  of  fixed  and  low  interest. 

Interest,  rent  and  profit  of  capital  are  kindred  if  not  iden- 
tical. They  are  each  compensation  for  the  use  of  things  ac- 
cording to  their  value.  We,  however,  use  the  word  interest 
to  more  specifically  designate  compensation  for  the  use  of 
money  loaned  or  payments  deferred.  It  requires  no  illustra- 
tion to  show  that  since  profit  is  only  the  surplus  wealth  pro- 
duced by  the  combined  employment  of  capital  and  labor  on 
land  or  that  which  has  been  derived  therefrom,  any  division 
which  fixes  the  share  of  one  of  these  two  factors,  necessarily 
determines  the  share  of  the  other.  If  the  share  of  capital  is 
fixed,  only  the  share  of  labor  will  be  variable,  whereas,  under 
our  present  system  of  a  variable  standard  of  value,  the  share 
of  each  is  variable,  and  the  division  is  based  on  might  without 
regard  to  right.  As  a  wage-earner,  I  am  asked :  "If  your 
employer  could  borrow  money  at  two  per  cent.,  would  he  pay 
any  more  wages  than  he  does  now?"  To  this  I  answer,  it 
would  at  least  be  possible  for  him  to  do  so ;  whereas,  with  in- 
terest at  6  or  ID  per  cent,  as  now,  it  may  be,  and  generally  is, 
impossible  for  him  to  do  so;  and  if  all  other  employers  were 
able  to  do  the  same  there  would  be  such  a  stimulus  to  business 
that  more  laborers  would  be  in  demand  by  employers  and 
the  glut  in  the  labor  market  would  be  accordingly  relieved, 
and  under  the  law^  of  supply  and  demand,  all  labor  would 
command  higher  wages,  mine  with  the  rest.  Fixing  the  rate 
of  interest,  so  that  money  has  the  same  value  at  all  times, 
would  add  security  to  all  legitimate  business,  which  alone 
would  be  most  beneficent,  for  then  financial  crises  and  money 
panics  would  be  impossible.  As  it  is  now,  one  who  enters  upon 
a  business  wath  money  even  as  low  as  5  per  cent,  must  hedge 
in  his  profits  against  the  day  when  his  interest  on  capital  bor- 
rowed will  be  raised  to  a  ruinous  rate,  as  witness  the  fluctua- 
tions in  New^  York,  where  at  one  time  interest  on  call  loans 
is  as  low  as  2  per  cent,  and  at  another  time  as  high  as  100  per 
cent.,  while  fluctuations  between  those  extremes  are  constantly 
occurring  throughout  the  country. 

Again   I  am  asked  by  a  wage-earner  himself:     "How  can 

22 


fovvering  the  rate  of  interest  benefit  me  who  never  borrow 
money  and  have  no  security  to  pledge  for  the  loan  if  I  wanted 
to?"  To  this  1  answer:  About  four-fifths  of  the  business  of 
this  country  is  done  on  borrowed  capitaL  Those  who  initiate 
and  conduct  the  business  have  to  make  it  so  profitable  that 
out  of  the  proceeds  they  can  pay  the  money  lenders  (usually 
the  banks)  the  interest  they  have  contracted  for  before  any- 
thing can  fall  to  them  for  even  their  services.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  95  per  cent,  of  business  enterprises  result  in 
failure.  The  test  of  success  of  any  business  is,  does  it  pay 
a  profit?  No  business  will  be  conducted  long  w^hen  the  re- 
ceipts over  expenses  do  not  exceed  the  interest  at  the  current 
rate  on  the  money  invested.  It  follows,  as  of  course,  that 
when  business  stops  by  reason  of  high  interest,  laborers  are 
thrown  out  of  work  and  wages  cease,  and  the  wage-earner  who 
lives  from  hand  to  mouth  is  the  first  and  most  pitiful  sufferer, 
and  would  therefore  be  most  benefited  by  low  interest.  With 
a  low  and  fixed  rate  of  interest,  therefore,  business  would  be 
immensely  stimulated,  consequently  increasing  the  demand  for 
labor,  and  the  supply  remaining  the  same,  just  in  proportion 
increasing  its  price  or  wage,  and  by  a  proper  limitation  on  the 
coming  of  laborers  from  foreign  countries,  the  supply  would 
soon  no  more  than  equal  the  demand  for  labor,  and  the  Ameri- 
can laborer  and  wage-earner  would  once  again  stand  firmly 
and  erect  upon  his  feet,  able  to  command  and  sure  to  receive 
his  full  share  of  the  wealth  he  helps  to  create. 


Part  V. — Authorities. 

Let  us  now  see  what  authority  and  power  we  have  and  can 
lawfully  exercise  over  the  forces  of  evil  in  our  economic  sys- 
tem, and  especially  in  the  three  branches  of  it  which  we  have 
been  considering  and  suggest,  if  we  can,  suitable  remedies  and 
how  to  apply  them. 

The  power  of  taxation,  which  is  simply  the  power  to  take 
and  appropriate  private  property  for  public  use  without  com- 
pensation to  the  owner,  other  than  that  which  he  receives 
incidentally  through  the  public  weal,  is  the  highest  prerogative 
of  sovereignty.  That  power  is  now  exercised  by  our  National, 
State  and  Municipal  governments  without  question  as  to  fun- 
damental right.  All  controversies  over  taxes  arise  from  dis- 
crimination in  subjects  or  rates,  but  not  upon  prerogative. 
Land  is  as  common  a  subject  of  taxation  as  personal  property. 


«3 


I  submit,  without  further  argument,  the  question,  is  it  not 
just  that  the  government  should  take  by  taxation  for  public 
use  all  of  the  increase  in  land  values  derived  from  the  labor 
of  the  community  surrounding  it,  and  in  no  other  way  con- 
tributed to  it  by  the  persons  who  hold  the  title  to  the  land? 
The  power  to  levy  such  a  tax  resides  in  the  people,  and  the 
State  government  is  the  instrument  through  which  it  can  and 
should  be  exercised. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  that  "The 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  coin  money,  regulate  the  value 
thereof  and  of  foreign  coin  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and 
measures."  Also  "To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations, 
and  among  the  several  states."  Also  "To  provide  for  the 
common  defense  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;" 
Also  that  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance 
thereof  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

What  greater  powers  than  these  do  we  need,  in  order  to 
lower  and  fix  the  rate  of  interest  on  money  loaned  and  to  pro- 
vide an  ample  supply  of  money  to  make  that  the  normal  and 
current  rate?  The  same  power  that  enables  Congress  to  coin 
money  empowers  it  to  regulate  its  value,  and  it  is  self-evident 
that  the  power  to  regulate  carries  with  it  the  power  to  fix  that 
value.  And  it  is  as  scientifically  and  as  practically  necessary 
to  fix  the  value  of  the  standard  of  value  as  to  fix  the  length 
of  the  standard  of  length. 

Prescribing  a  rate  of  interest  without  providing  a  supply  of 
money  to  equal  the  demand  at  that  rate  has  always  been,  and 
from  the  very  nature  of  things,  must  always  be,  abortive.  The 
value  of  money,  like  that  of  everything  else  of  commerce,  is 
its  use,  and  since  interest  is  the  price  paid  for  the  use  of  money, 
it  also  indicates  what  the  value  is,  and  money  being  the  meas- 
ure of  value  and  the  medium  of  exchange,  its  value,  like  that 
of  everything  else,  is  expressed  in  money,  and  its  use  is  paid 
for,  unlike  that  of  anything  else,  in  a  part  of  itself,  or  its 
equivalent  in  value.  It  is  for  us  through  Congress  to  prescribe 
what  that  part  shall  be  and  establish  and  maintain  it. 

It  is  by  the  exercise  of  that  certain  prerogative  of  emment 
domain  that  we  must  bring,  not  only  the  railroads,  but  all 
other  branches  of  industry  susceptible  of  private  monopoly,  or 
of  public  utility,  under  Government  control,  to  the  end  that 
they  shall  be  not  only  beneficial  but  in  no  way  injurious  to  the 
general  community. 

Bouvier's  Law  Dictionary  defines  Eminent  Domain  to  be 
"The  superior  right  of  property  subsisting  in  a  sovereignty 
f^y  which  private  property  may  in  certain  cases  be  taken  or 
8ts  use  controlled  for  the  public  benefit,  without  regard  to  the 

24 


wishes  of  the  owner.  The  powers  to  take  private  property 
for  pubhc  use."  6  How.  536.  *  *  *  So  it  was  said  by  the 
U,  S.  Supreme  Court :  "The  power  to  take  private  property 
for  public  use,  generally  termed  the  right  of  eminent  domain, 
belongs  to  every  independent  government.  It  is  an  incident 
to  sovereignty  and  as  said  in  Boom  Co.  vs.  Patterson,  98  U.  S. 
requires  no  constitutional  recognition.  Field,  J.,  109  U.  S. 
513,  518.'  "  The  same  authority  says  as  to  what  may  be 
taken,  "Every  kind  of  property  may  be  taken  under  this  power. 
It  is  attribute  of  sovereignty  and  whatever  exists  in  any  form, 
whether  tangible  or  intangible,  may  be  subjected  to  the  exer- 
cises of  this  power,  and  may  be  seized  and  appropriated  to 
public  uses  when  necessity  demands  it,"  for  which  authorities 
are  cited. 

Further  still,  we  have  the  law  of  Public  Policy,  defined  by 
Bouvier  as,  "That  principle  of  the  law  which  holds  that  no 
subject  can  lawfully  do  that  which  has  a  tendency  to  be  in- 
jurious to  the  public  or  against  the  public  good,"  and  cites 
cases  in  support  of  this  definition. 

Our  right  of  eminent  domain,  however,  is  somewhat  abridged 
by  the  United  States  Constitution,  as  that  instrument  provides 
that  "no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property 
without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation." 

But  here  is  also  another  provision  in  said  Constitution: 
"All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  state  wherein  they  reside.  No  state  shall 
make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  nor  shall  any 
state  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or  property,  without 
due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion the  equal  protection  of  the  laws."  The  same  Constitution 
also  provides  that  "Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude, 
except  as  a  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States 
or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction."  It  also  provides 
that  "The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall 
not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  any  state, 
on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude." 

In  the  last  provision  quoted  there  is  a  plain  implication,  and 
it  is  a  legal  inference  also,  that  the  right  of  citizens  to  vote 
may  be  denied  or  abridged  for  other  reasons,  and  the  fact  is, 
they  are  so  denied  and  abridged  on  account  of  crime,  insanity, 
idiocy  and  (will  God  forgive  us?)  poverty  and  sex! 

25 


Part  VI. — Conclusion. 

"Ill  fares  the  land  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Wliere  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay." 

We  have  heretofore  pointed  to  the  evils  resultant  from  un- 
restrained private  ownership  of  the  three  most  prominent  ob- 
jects of  human  necessity  susceptible  of  monopoly,  and  have 
shown  what  the  sovereign  and  constitutional  rights  and  powers 
of  the  people  are,  whereby  we  may  apply  adequate  remedies 
to  them  all  and  equally  so  to  all  the  lesser  evils  not  chargeable 
to  any  of  these,  that  vitiate  our  economic  system. 

There  remains  to  be  considered  the  manner  of  exercising 
these  rights  and  powers  in  applying  the  remedies. 

I  now  solicit  a  heart-to-heart  talk  with  my  fellow  citizens, 
hoping  thereby  to  make  myself  the  better  understood,  and  I 
can  unqualifiedly  say  that  I  entered  upon  this  discussion  and 
desire  to  extend  it  "with  malice  toward  none,  with  charity 
for  all." 

Lest  we  forget,  let  me  repeat  that  every  voter  in  the  United 
States  is  a  sovereign  in  his  own  right  and  that  collectively, 
through  the  ballot,  we  have  a  remedy  for  every  ill  of  our  now 
imperfect  political  and  economic  systerhs.  Politics  and  eco- 
nomics are  so  closely  related  that  it  seems  almost  superfluous 
to  separate  them,  as  primarily,  politics  is  the  science  of  gov- 
ernment and  economics  the  science  of  national  housekeeping. 
Each  is  dependent  upon  the  other ;  but  there  usually  exists  in 
every  country  as  in  this  a  division  of  politics  known  as  par- 
tisan, in  the  strife  of  which  patriotism  is  often  submerged  be- 
neath a  sea  of  personal  and  private  interests ;  hence,  I  think 
our  political  institution  has  not  kept  pace  with  our  economic 
forces  in  the  march  of  progress.  Every  evil  in  our  economic 
system  should  be  removed  without  the  instrumentality  of 
political  parties  as  such,  but  men  of  all  parties  should  unite 
to  perform  the  work  as  a  necessity  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Republic  and  the  establishment  of  justice.  There  is  but  one 
of  two  ways  open  to  us.  We  may  instruct  our  Congress  and 
our  Legislatures  to  enact  laws  to  carry  the  reforms  w^e  indi- 
cate into  effect,  and,  should  they  disregard  or  refuse  to  obey 
our  instructions,  we  must  see  to  it  that  their  places  are  filled 
at  the  next  election  by  those  who  are  pledged  to  carry  out  our 
wishes. 

Petitions  to  government  do  not  become  sovereign  citizens, 
and  if  our  wishes  are  expressed  in  that  humble  form  we  are 
liable  to  be  mistaken  for  powerless  serfs,  bereft  of  all  political 
rights,  as  was  recently  illustrated  in  the  Russian  capital.  Let 
us  demand  of  our  Legislatures  laws  taxing  all  land  to  the  full 


extent  of  its  unearned  increment,  and  a  law  that  will  enable 
the  state  government  to  take  such  control  of  every  industry 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state  so  far  as  is  necessary  to 
prevent  such  industry  being  managed  to  the  injury  of  the 
public. 

Let  us  demand  of  Congress  a  law  reducing  and  fixing  the 
interest  on  money  loaned  and  j>ayments  deferred,  to  a  just  rate, 
and  that  it  provide,  through  the  method  now  in  use,  or  another 
to  take  its  place,  a  supply  of  money  through  loans  to  the  peo- 
ple, on  good  security  on  demand,  to  make  that  the  normal  rate; 
and  that  it  enact  laws  enabling  the  executive  and  judicial 
branches  of  the  Government  to  take  control  of  every  other 
private  industry  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state,  so  far 
as  is  necessary  to  prevent  the  same  from  working  injury  to  the 
public.  As  I  have  already  pointed  out,  the  right  to  enact 
such  laws  is  ample  without  even  a  constitutional  amendment. 
The  effect  would  be  to  nationalize  all  the  industries  so  far,  and 
only  so  far,  as  is  necessary  for  the  public  welfare,  and  with  this 
secured  on  a  just  and  equitable  basis,  the  strife  between  capital 
and  labor  will  cease  and  these  two  essential  factors  in  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth  will  work  together  harmoniously  for  their 
mutual  good. 

A  word  to  my  comrades  of  1861-5:  Eternal  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  Liberty  in  times  of  peace  no  less  than  in  times  of  war. 
We  thought  when  we  had  loosed  the  bonds  of  four  millions  of 
chattel  slaves  and  cemented  the  Union  with  the  blood  of  other 
millions  of  our  fellow  countrymen,  our  work  was  completed, 
and  we  have  rested  on  our  laurels  for  forty  years,  heedless  of 
the  wise  admonition,  "When  ye  think  ye  stand,  take  heed  lest 
ye  fall."  And  not  only  to  you  who  wore  the  blue,  but  to  you, 
comrades,  who  wore  the  gray,  and  to  my  fellow  countrymen 
all,  let  me  say: 

This  is  not  yet  a  free  country,  nor  can  it  truthfully  be  said 
that  Old  Glory  no  longer  floats  over  a  slave!  We  have  not 
exercised  our  sovereignty  as  best  becomes  citizen  kings,  in  re- 
straining the  strong  from  undue  aggressions  upon  the  rights 
of  the  weak,  but  have  left  free  the  spirits  of  Avarice  and 
Ambition  to  hold  high  carnival  in  our  fields  of  industry,  and 
today  our  prisons,  our  alms-houses  and  our  potter's  fields, 
crowded  with  the  helpless  victims  of  a  merciless  commercial- 
ism, cry  out  against  us !  Many  thousands  of  our  fellow  citi- 
zens, gaunt  with  hunger  and  clothed  in  rags,  throng  our 
highways  and  our  by-ways  begging  for  work  whereby  they 
may  earn  an  honest  living,  but  there  is  no  work  for  them ; 
while  a  few  other  thousands  are  surfeited  with  wealth  and 
comforts  they  have  never  earned  and  their  granaries  and  store- 
houses are  groaning  with  food  and  clothing  enough  to  satisfy 

27 


the  needs  of  all.  Generally  it  takes  a  thousand  paupers,  beg- 
gars and  tramps  to  make  one  millionaire,  and  we  have  a  thou- 
sand millionaires  and  many  multi-millionaires  who  have  ac- 
quired their  estates  within  the  past  forty  years!  What  better 
evidence  than  this  could  there  be  of  our  neglect  of  duty? 
There  is  always  a  vast  army  of  unemployed  eager  to  take  the 
places  of  those  who  are  employed  should  they  on  any  pretext 
quit  work,  as  witness  the  readiness  with  which  a  strike  is  bro- 
ken, and  it  is  claimed  by  the  supporters  of  our  present  system 
that  this  army  of  unemployed  is  a  necessary  reserve  for  the  use 
of  the  "Captains  of  Industry,"  in  cases  of  strikes,  harvest  times, 
etc.  This  alone  is  an  unanswerable  indictment  against  the 
system.  Instead  of  making  and  maintaining  criminals  and 
paupers  by  such  methods,  the  state  should  furnish  work  to  all 
its  citizens,  at  honorable  and  living  wages,  while  they  are  un- 
able to  get  employment  in  the  industries.  Highways  and 
other  works  of  permanent  and  general  utility  are  always  in 
need  of  such  labor  and  the  economy  to  the  State  would  be 
immense. 

The  economic  forces,  which  have  been  prodigiously  aug- 
mented within  the  past  half  century,  have  been  steadily  at 
work  without  restraint,  in  making  the  few  richer  and  the  many 
poorer,  until  today,  instead  of  four  millions  of  chattel  slaves, 
there  are  in  this  country  many  millions  of  wage  slaves,  whose 
condition  in  many  respects  is  more  abject  and  pitiful  than  was 
that  of  the  subjects  of  chattel  slavery  in  its  most  revolting 
form !  Whoever  is  dependent  upon  the  will  or  caprice  of 
another  for  the  precious  privilege  of  working  for  a  living,  is 
a  slave,  and  calling  him  by  any  other  name  does  not  change 
the  fact  or  ameliorate  his  condition.  Every  man,  woman  or 
child  who  lives  by  his  or  her  own  labor  paid  for  by  another 
private  person  or  corporation  at  will,  is  measurably  a  slave, 
whether  the  salary  or  wage  be  fifty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Every  one  who  works  under  the  direction  of  another  at  that 
other's  unrestrained  will,  stands  in  a  subservient  position  in- 
compatible with  sovereignty  and  in  restraint  of  that  freedom 
which  is  essential  to  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness 
as  enunciated  in  our  Immortal  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Employment  in  every  industry  should  depend  on  merit  and 
efficiency  alone.  Every  business  requiring  government  control 
to  make  it  serve  the  public  most  eflficiently  or  to  prevent  it 
being  injurious  thereto,  will  need,  under  government  control 
or  restraint,  precisely  the  same  people,  or  such  as  they,  to  do 
the  work  that  do  it  now.  I  cannot  conceive  that  any  employe 
now  at  work  for  a  private  person  or  corporation  under  no 
government  restraint  or  control  would  work  less  willingly  or 
cheerfully  in  the  same  position  were  the  business  under  the 

28 


control  or  rt'straint  of  Government,  and  I  believe  that  were 
such  a  change  eftected,  the  salary  earner  and  the  daily  wage 
earner  alike,  under  proper  civil  service  rules,  would  enjoy  a 
spirit  of  liberty  and  freedom  from  fear  of  displacement  and 
distress  such  as  none  of  us  can  enjoy  now. 

To  those  in  high  places  of  power,  both  political  and  eco- 
nomic, permit  me  to  say :  There  is  a  spirit  of  unrest  born  of 
our  unjust  economic  system  which  is  crying  loudly  for  a 
change  that  is  nothing  short  of  complete  revolution,  and  the 
volume  of  that  cry  is  being  augmented  with  every  turn  of  the 
wheels  of  commerce,  which,  as  now  adjusted,  forces  the  central- 
ization of  wealth  into  the  hands  of  the  few  as  payment  for  the 
use  of  Capital,  and  leaves  the  masses,  who  by  their  labor  have 
helped  to  create  that  wealth,  no  share  of  the  increase,  but  re- 
duces them  more  and  more  numerously  to  a  bare  subsistence, 
having  no  share  in  the  benefits  accrued  from  the  inventions 
of  the  age,  which,  too,  have  supplanted  so  many  of  them  as 
factors  of  production,  and  reduced  millions  of  them,  the  noblest 
and  best  pepole  that  the  sun  ever  shone  on,  to  worse  than 
beggary.  This  cry,  while  comparatively  feeble  now,  is  daily 
increasing  in  volume,  and  is  for  the  general  confiscation  of  all 
the  property  of  those  they  describe  as  one  class,  by  what  they 
conceive  to  be  the  only  other  class,  consisting  as  they  see  it 
of  those  who,  as  they  are  taught  and  believe,  have  been  de- 
frauded of  it.  Not  only  something  must  be  done,  and  done 
quickly,  but  everything  must  be  done,  and  that  soon,  to  prevent 
further  wrongs  such  as  have  led  to  this  cry.  History  has 
proven  us  to  be  a  patient  and  long-sufifering  people.  Count 
not  too  confidently  upon  this  characteristic.  You  have  vested 
rights?  So  have  we  all.  The  vested  right  to  life  and  liberty 
is  paramount  to  that  of  private  property.  There  are  no  vested 
wrongs.  All  other  claims  must  yield  to  those  of  Justice,  for 
they  are  eternal.  Popular  upheavals,  under  the  stress  of  op- 
pressions suffered,  are  as  merciless  as  the  earthquake  or  the 
tornado.  Deal  righteously.  To  the  masses,  to  whom  I  am 
more  closely  allied  by  experience  and  condition,  I  say:  Right- 
fully and  Constitutionally,  such  confiscation  is  impossible 
Fortunately  it  is  not  necessary. 

If  those  who  toil  at  honest  work  with  brain  or  muscle  obtain 
their  fair  share  of  the  wealth  they  help  to  create  henceforth, 
it  will  not  be  long  until  they  will  be  self-employed  or  become 
constituent  parts  of  a  co-operative  commonwealth  whose  motto 
will  be:  From  everyone  according  to  his  ability;  to  everyone 
according  to  his  need,  and  a  fair  chance  and  exact  justice  to  all. 

The  proper  use  of  the  tools  and  machinery  of  production 
and  distribution  by  those  who  own  them  is  all  we  should  re- 
quire.   If  they  will  not  make  such  use,  we  must.    What  com- 

29 


pensation  they  are  entitled  to  for  the  use  of  their  tools  and 
machinery,  whether  used  or  controlled  by  them  or  by  the 
Government,  over  and  above  the  cost  of  keeping  in  repair, 
will  be  determined  by  the  rate  of  interest  fixed  for  the  use  of 
money  loaned.  When  that  is  fixed,  rents  and  profits  will 
adjust  themselves  to  it.  Hence  the  importance  of  making  that 
a  just  rate. 

Let  those  who  hold  the  titles  now  continue  to  hold  them. 
Private  property  in  most  cases,  as  we  have  seen,  when  taken 
for  public  use,  requires  compensation  to  the  owner.  We  don't 
want  to  go  in  debt  for  all  the  capital  in  the  country,  and  could 
not  if  we  would,  and  a  robbery  today  will  not  right  the  wrong 
of  a  robbery  yesterday. 

Whenever  the  Government  is  forced  to  take  control  of  pri- 
vate property,  either  to  restrain  its  improper  use  or  to  secure 
its  proper  use,  it  can  pay  for  that  use  out  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  business,  and  thus  avoid  all  onerous  obligations. 

but  again:  The  accumulation  of  the  wealth  into  the  hands 
of  the  few  has  been  done  by  men — our  brothers — most  of 
whom  are  as  good  and  as  honest  as  we. 

They  did  it  with  our  consent.  We  could  have  prevented  it 
long  ago,  but  did  not.  Our  sufferings  and  deprivations  are 
chargeable  to  our  own  stupid  neglect.  Every  one  of  us  had 
like  opportunities  oilfered,  and  had  we  known  how,  would  have 
done  as  they  have  done.  They  (many  of  them)  are  in  lawful 
possession  because  we  made  no  law  prohibiting  it.  Let  us 
now  put  a  curb-bit  into  the  mouth  of  this  monster  of  Private 
Monopoly  and  harness  him  to  the  car  of  State  and  compel  him 
to  pull  the  load  of  our  necessities  along  the  highway  of  human 
progress.  Hate  and  Fear  are  the  arch-enemies  of  human  hap- 
piness. They  destroy  whom  they  would  defend.  Let  us  go 
to  our  work  of  reform  resolutely  but  lovingly,  that  we  may 
invoke  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  all  Love.  When  we  shall 
have  done  our  duty  as  sovereign  citizens  and  placed  the  ma- 
chinery of  production  and  distribution  under  proper  and  neces- 
sary control,  we  will  be  in  peaceful  enjoyment  of  all  the  wealth 
we  create,  and  again  the  morning  stars  will  sing  together,  and 
all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  God  will  go  to  their  labors  shout- 
ing for  joy. 

A.    H.    LOW. 

1417  Hoover  St.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


JO 


LAND,  MONEY  AND  HIGHWAYS— EVILS  AND 
REMEDIES. 


Appendix. 
In  order  to  more  clearly  define  my  position  in  relation  t% 
our  money  system,  which  I  believe  is  the  most  in  need  of  refor 
mation,  I  suggest  by  way  of  the  initiative,  the  following  BiU 
for  submission  to  Congress : 

AN  ACT 

Fixing  the  Value  of  the  Standard  Measure  of  Value  and  furthes 

Regulating  the  Value  of  Money: 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled ; 

That  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  next  after  the 
passage  of  this  act,  the  rate  of  interest  for  money  loaned  and 
payments  deferred,  on  all  debts  and  obligations  contracted  on 
or  after  that  date,  not  otherwise  specified  by  contract,  shall  be 
two  (2)  per  cent,  per  annum. 

Section  2.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  establish 
loan  offices  as  he  may  deem  expedient,  not  less  than  one  in 
each  county  or  parish  in  the  United  States  and  Territories  and 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  having  a  population  of  two  thou- 
sand or  more,  as  shown  by  the  latest  census.  Said  offices  shall 
be  for  issuing,  lending,  and  depositing  money,  as  banks  of 
issue  and  deposit  are  now  used.  Whenever,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  the  Postmaster  General,  it 
will  be  expedient.  Postal  Savings  Bank  and  loan  office  may 
be  combined. 

Section  3.  The  business  of  the  loan  offices  respectively, 
shall  be  performed  by  a  cashier  and  one  or  more  tellers  as  the 
business  may  require.  The  duties  of  cashier  shall  be  to  re- 
ceive money  on  deposit,  pay  out  money  withdrawn  on  check  or 
draft,  lend  money  on  good  security,  make  settlements  of  loans 
made  by  him,  and  keep  a  proper  record  of  his  transactions,  and 
perform  such  other  acts  and  duties  as  shall  be  imposed  on  him 
by  law  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. He  shall  have  immediate  supervision  of  the  business 
of  the  office.  The  teller  shall  assist  in  keeping  the  accounts 
and  records  of  the  office  and  perform  such  other  duties  as  shall 
be  prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Cashiers  and  tellers  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  for  the  term  of  four  years  unless  sooner  removed 
or  suspended  according  to  law,  and  shall  receive  such  compen- 
•sation  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  deem  just,  not  to 

31 


exceed  $3,000  a  year  and  until  otherwise  prescribed  by  law. 

The  Civil  Service  rules  and  regulations,  as  applied  to  the 
Postal  Service,  so  far  as  applicable,  are  hereby  extended  to 
said  loan  offices. 

Section  4.  Every  cashier  and  teller  before  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  his  office  shall  give  bond  with  good  and  approved 
security,  and  in  such  penalty  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
shall  deem  sufficient,  conditioned  upon  the  faithful  discharge  of 
all  duties  and  trusts  imposed  on  him,  either  by  law  or  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  department.  The  laws  relating  to  bonds 
of  postmasters  shall  also  apply  and  extend  to  bonds  of  cash- 
iers and  tellers,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  applicable.  In  the 
settlement  of  the  cashier's  account  he  shall  be  charged  with  all 
depositors'  balances,  moneys  out  on  loan,  all  funds,  blank  notes, 
and  property  entrusted  to  his  care  or  keeping,  and  be  credited 
with  all  moneys,  blank  notes,  and  property  on  hand,  and  shall, 
together  with  his  sureties  be  held  accountable  and  liable  for 
all  deficiencies,  and  for  all  moneys  loaned  and  unpaid  or  out- 
standing. 

Section  5.  Any  person  who  shall  have  money  to  his  or  her 
credit  as  a  depositor  at  any  loan  office  may  withdraw  from 
such  office  money  to  the  amount  of  the  balance  to  his  or  her 
credit,  or  any  part  thereof,  on  presenting  by  himself,  his  payee, 
or  endorsee,  a  proper  check,  draft,  or  order  in  writing,  but 
no  such  depositor  shall  be  entitled  to  withdraw  or  reclaim  the 
identical  money  so  deposited,  or  any  part  thereof.  The  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  shall  cause  to  be  prepared  and  furnished 
to  the  cashiers  blank  checks,  which  blanks  shall  be  sold  to 
depositors  by  the  cashiers  at  cost. 

Section  6.  To  meet  the  demands  for  money  at  said  rate  of 
interest  in  excess  of  the  amounts  of  other  money  in  their  con- 
trol subject  to  loan,  the  cashiers  shall  be  provided  with,  and 
issue  in  the  manner  hereinafter  mentioned,  notes  of  the  United 
States  in  denominations  of  one,  two,  five,  ten,  twenty,  fifty, 
one  hundred,  five  hundred,  and  one  thousand  dollars,  according 
to  the  demands  of  commerce.  The  said  notes  shall  be  printed 
and  furnished  by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  under  the 
direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Section  7.  The  notes  as  furnished  in  blank  to  the  cashiers 
shall  express  upon  their  face  that  they  are  secured  by  ample 
pledges  in  the  possession  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  bear  the  written  or  engraved  signatures  of  the 
Comptroller  and  Treasurer,  and  the  imprint  of  the  seal  of  the 
Treasury  and  the  promise  of  the  United  States  of  America  to 
pay  the  bearer  their  face  value  on  demand ;  and  shall  bear  such 
devices  and  such  other  statements,  and  shall  be  in  such  form 
^s  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  by  regulation  direct, 

32 


and  before  the  said  notes  shall  become  valid  and  in  force  they 
shall  be  dated  and  countersigned  by  the  cashier  issuing  them. 
Section  8.  The  notes  provided  for  by  this  act  are  hereby 
declared  money,  and  shall  be  issued  and  circulated  as  such, 
and  shall  be  receivable  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
for  everything  for  which  money  is  by  law  receivable,  and  shall 
be  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts  and  dues,  public  and 
private,  contracted  after  the  passage  of  this  act. 


NOTE. — There  are  10  additional  sections  to  this  Bill 
which,  taken  with  the  foregoing,  makes  the  Bill  complete. 
The  last  ten  sections  have  been  omitted  from  this  edition  to 
give  place  to  the  following  Memorial. 

The  Author  earnestly  solicits  the  co-operation  of  every 
person  in  sympathy  with  his  efforts,  to  have  the  Legislature 
of  every  State  in  the  Union  pass  this  Memorial,  unless  Con- 
gress shall  enact  the  law  before  the  Memorial  has  gone  the 
rounds. 

The  Author  suggests,  that  with  appropriate  modifica- 
tions, this  Memorial  can  be  used  by  any  Society  or  Conven- 
tion, desiring  to  promote  the  cause  to  which  it  relates. 

A  copy  of  the  complete  Bill,  together  with  a  copy  of  the 
Memorial,  will  be  sent  to  any  person  on  request,  free. 

Address,  Alvin  H.  Low,  1417  South  Hoover  St.,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.  j 


33 

451630 


Memorial  to  Congress 

The  Memorial  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of to  the  Congress  of 

the  United  States,  relating  to  jNIoncy,  respectfully  represents: 

That  Use  is  the  foundation  of  value. 

That  money  is  the  measure  of  commercial  value,  and  should  be  as  fixed  in  value 
as  it  is  possible  to  fix  it. 

That  supply  and  demand  for  use,  determine  the  commercial  value  of  money,  na 
less  than  that  of  labor  and  commodities. 

That  interest  is  the  price  paid  for  the  use  of  money  and  indicates  the  value  of 
money  at  a  given  time  and  place. 

That  to  fix  the  value  of  money,  so  that  the  money  system  shall  be  a  just  measuring 
system,  it  is  not  onh'  necessary  to  prescribe  the  material  of  which  the  unit  of  the 
system  is  composed  (as  the  gold  dollar)  but  the  price  of  the  use  of  that  unit  and  that 
of  all  its  representatives,  must  be  prescribed,  and  a  supply  of  money  must  be  provided 
to  meet  the  demand  at  such  price  or  rate  of  interest. 

That  Section  8  of  Article  1  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  imposes  on 
Congress  the  right  and  duty,  not  only  to  coin  money,  but  also  to  regulate  the  value 
thereof,  as  well  as  to  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of , 

That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  requested  to  determine,  by  com- 
mission or  otherwise,  what  is  a  just  rate  of  interest,  for  the  use  of  money  loaned  and 
payments  deferred,  and  that  it  prescribe  such  rate  as  the  legal  rate. 

That  it  establish  loan  offices  with  the  Postal  Savings  Banks  and  otherwise,  wher- 
ever needed,  and  lend  money  therefrom  to  meet  the  demand  at  such  rate  not  so  met  by 
other  money-lenders,  so  that  the  normal  rate  shall  be  the  legal  and  just  rate. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  is  requested  to  forward  a  copy  hereof,  to  each,  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  Congress,  and  to  each  Senator  and  Representative  in  Congress 
from  this  State. 

34 


LAND.    MONEY   AND    HIGHWAYS:     EVILS    AND 
REMEDIES. 


RECAPITULATION 

OF 

PREMISES  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Use  is  the  foundation  of  value. 

The  law  of  supply  and  demand  is  the  fundamental  law  of 
■commercial  value. 

Money  is  the  measure  of  commercial  value,  and  should  be 
as  fixed  and  certain  in  value  as  the  yardstick  is  in  length. 

Private  monopoly  of  public  necessities  is  the  evil  we  desire 
to  remedy. 

Land,  money  and  highways  are  the  three  leading  public 
necessities  subject  to  monopoly. 

Land  monopoly  should  be  remedied  by  taxing  the  monop- 
olist'c  and  speculative  element  out  of  land  values. 

To  remedy  money  monopoly,  Congress  should  prescribe  a 
just  rate  of  interest  on  money  loaned  and  payments  deferred, 
and  provide  a  supply  of  money  by  loans  to  the  people  to  meet 
the  demand  at  such  rate. 

The  remedy  for  railroad  monopoly  is  government  control, 
to  stop  extortion  and  discrimination. 

Capital  and  labor  being  the  only  claimants  to  the  profits  of 
the  industries,  fixing  the  just  share  of  capital  (which  would 
be  done  by  fixing  a  just  rate  of  interest)  leaves  the  share  of 
labor  equally  just. 

The  proposed  act  of  Congress  is  the  initiative  proposition 
towards  breaking  the  money  monopoly,  and  the  practical  so- 
lution of  the  capital  and  labor  problem. 


See  Next  Page. 
35 


ADVERTISEMENT 

Price  of  the  Book,  "Land,  Money  and  Highways :  Evils  and  Reme- 
dies," at  the  book  stores  or  by  mail,  postage  paid,  50  cents.  Address  A.  H 
Low,  Author  and  Publisher,  1417  Hoover  street,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


Patriotic  co-operation  in  disseminating  a  more  general 
knowledge  of  the  principles  herein  set  forth  is  earnestly  solic- 
ited by  the  Author. 


ii\v,),.;jf;-sa 


t^^^h 


,-:m-- 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

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